Students will present the plaintiff and defense sides of a fictitious civil case before a panel of local volunteer lawyers and judges. Additionally, students will fill the roles of attorneys, witnesses, bailiffs and timekeepers. Each team will be judged on its presentation skills, rather than the legal merits of the case.

This year’s fictitious case is Sidney Curie v. Petzicon Products, Inc. Curie, the owner of an award-winning West Highland Terrier, is suing Petzicon for the manufacture and sale of its flea treatment FleaX, after Curie’s dog died following its use. Petzicon denies the allegations, claiming the death was caused by Curie’s improper application of the flea treatment.

A total of 12 teams from four regional competitions will advance to the state competition Dec. 6-7 at the Marc H. Westbrook Lexington County Judicial Center. This year will mark the 10th State Middle School Mock Trial Competition.

The Mock Trial Program is sponsored by the S.C. Bar’s Law Related Education (LRE) Division, which was developed in 1976 to improve the ability of teachers to instruct law related education.

The Mock Trial Program is supported by the Bar’s LRE Committee, and made possible through a S.C. Bar Foundation IOLTA grant and the S.C. Bar.

The S.C. Bar, which has a membership of more than 14,500 lawyers, is dedicated to advancing justice, professionalism and understanding of the law.